The Janata Dal (Secular), which lost three of its legislators to “Operation Lotus”, is taking the Old Mysuru region seats seriously and focusing on them to retain its relevance in State politics and to keep up the morale of its workers.
While it lost Hunsur, K.R. Pete and Mahalakshmi Layout after A.H. Vishwanath, K.R. Narayan Gowda and Gopalaiah resigned from their seats, the party is looking to retain the three constituencies. They are also looking to put up serious fights in Yeshwantpur and Chickballapur that have a sizeable Vokkaliga population, the party’s main base. The JD(S) has already announced its candidates for all seats in south Karnataka, barring Mahalakshmi Layout.
“Focusing on these constituencies will help the party remain relevant in the post-byelection scenario,” a legislator said, adding that the decision to extend support to a Vokkaliga and Independent Sharath Bache Gowda was based on political exigency to defeat BJP nominee N. Nagaraju (MTB), who deserted the Congress ahead of the trust vote.
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According to sources, the party is confident in Chickballapur, K.R. Pete and Yeshwantpur, but is expected to put up a tough fight in Hunsur and Mahalakshmi Layout, the two seats it held before defections. “The party has a base in Chickballapur and the leaders have a reason to fight it seriously as BJP candidate K. Sudhakar was among those instrumental in bringing down the government,” sources said.
“Mahalakshmi Layout has a sizeable chunk of Vokkaliga population tracing their roots in Hassan, Mandya and Mysuru districts. They voted for the JD(S) for nearly two decades and we expect this to continue. Delay in announcing the candidate may not affect the poll outcome,” a legislator said.
Meanwhile, the JD(S) is yet to announce the list of candidates for Athani, Gokak, Kagwad, and Mahalakshmi Layout. “Mr. H.D. Deve Gowda is in Hassan and a decision could be made on Saturday morning,” party sources said.
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